23 Feb 2004

Jewellery Motifs(HKTDC Jewellery, Vol 01,2004)

Jewellery Motifs

Flowers,
dragonflies and butterflies are a popular motif for fine items from Carat Jewellery
Ltd, which targets the high-end of the jewellery market

Spring
comes but once a year, unless you are a Hong Kong jewellery manufacturer who knows
that motifs like flowers and butterflies are a perennial favourite with customers
of all ages.

Omnia Jewellery director Edmond Lai says every female likes flowers.
"They are everlasting and will always have a market," he proclaims.
Omnia's target audience is the 30-40 year old woman who likes more elaborate,
decorative designs.

"We mostly create our own designs, but, if a client
supplies their own design then we will make it for them," says Lai. "Our
pieces are not too expensive, either, so items can be worn daily."

FOB
Hong Kong prices for earrings are in the US$500-800 price range, while brooches
average US$1,000 each and necklaces about US$3,000 each.

A 4,500-square-foot
factory in Shenzhen on the Chinese mainland hand crafts about 3,000 items a month.
With a lead time of 3-4 weeks, there is no minimum order requirement.

"The centre stone may be big but not so
expensive, while the coloured stones are now lower in value."

Omnia, which
started in 1990, posts an annual turnover of HK$25m, thanks to clients in main
markets like the US (40%) and Japan (30%). The rest splits between Europe and
Southeast Asia.

Colour and nature are important themes in Aaron Shum Jewelry
Ltd's Gemtique collection "because nature has all kinds of colours",
according to sales manager Summer Lam. "We believe 2004 is the year of colour.
As well as diamonds, people want coloured gemstones like sapphires and rubies,"
she adds.

Items in the Gemtique line come priced at US$100-5,000 FOB Hong Kong
per piece. A flower ring of white diamonds, pink rhodolite, blue topaz and peridot
set in 18-karat white gold costs US$600, while a gemstone and brown diamond pair
of rings in the shape of butterflies is US$550 per set. A matching necklace is
US$3,800.

Buyers are chain and department stores and TV shopping channels in
Japan and the US, catalogue houses and wholesalers. "We produce our own designs
and do OEM work, which is about 10% of our business," says Lam.

There
is no minimum order requirement, and lead time is four weeks for standard items
or six weeks for a tailor-made product. The firm has more than 2,000-3,000 designs
on its books, and releases about 30 new styles a month. Production takes place
in a 40,000-square-foot factory in Shunde on the mainland.

Flowers, dragonflies
and butterflies are also a popular motif for Carat Jewellery Ltd, which targets
the high-end market. "Everyone likes flowers and butterflies," confirms
marketing manager Fion Wong.

She says her firm's customer profile is the mature
woman who likes beautiful designs and can afford to spend a bit more on her jewellery.
"Each piece is very detailed - small items like a diamond and crystal flower
brooch [US$2,000 FOB Hong Kong] can take one month to make, while bigger items
like a yellow diamond dragonfly brooch [US$4,000] can take four months."

About
200 trained workers hand craft designs at a 5,000-square-foot factory in Panyu
on the mainland. "Our jewellery is a bit more expensive than other companies,
but we invest a lot in design and materials to make better products," says
Wong. There is no minimum order requirement.

Buyers
have been asking for more colourful, semiprecious jewellery. "To have only
diamonds is outdated. We will be making combinations of diamonds and semiprecious
stones following the trends coming from Europe," confirms Wong, noting that
pearls are also popular.

Lorenzo Jewelry Ltd's product development manager Brenda
Wong observes, "Nature motifs like flowers are always in fashion because
they are very feminine."

Although Lorenzo mainly works in 14- and 18-karat
gold and silver items set with coloured gemstones, the company has also seen a
rise in demand for colourful and big, but less expensive stones. "If you
look at the big names like Cartier and Bvlgari, the prominent trend is colourful
semiprecious stones and big sizes," says Wong.

Lorenzo offers its clients
a new type of garnet with a vibrant pinkish plum colour, discovered accidentally
by a hunter in Brazil in 1997, which it has trademarked under the name of "rosenite".

All
designs are in-house creations: the drawings, done in Hong Kong, receive CAD/CAM
treatment on the Chinese mainland. Examples include a delicate ring featuring
two butterflies in 18-karat white gold set with diamonds, rosenite and amethyst,
and an elegant 18-karat white gold necklace set with diamonds, pink tourmaline,
tanzanite and blue topaz.

Minimum orders are negotiable, with delivery time
2-6 weeks after order confirmation from an 86,000-square-foot Shenzhen factory.
Prices are available on application.

The company employs a mine-to-market strategy
to maintain quality control over all aspects of production and distribution. Rough
gemstone comes from Brazil, Africa, India and the mainland. Lorenzo's main buyers
include TV shopping channels and 27 of the Top 40 jewellery retailers in the US
(75%), Japan and Europe.

Traditionally servicing the low to middle market,
2003 saw Lorenzo move into the high-end. "We want to build up the corporate
image of Lorenzo as a brand. Since the trend is to open flagship stores, we are
opening the first official showroom in Hung Hom [in Hong Kong] at the end of February.
We plan to expand into retailing on the mainland and will launch Lorenzo stores
in Beijing and Shanghai," reveals Wong.

It seems that it is permanently
spring for Hong Kong's makers of fine jewellery motifs.

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